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Neotel has expanded its retail footprint by opening its second store at the N1 City Mall in Cape Town this week.
The store follows the successful open plan design of the original shop in Cedar Read More
Neotel has expanded its retail footprint by opening its second store at the N1 City Mall in Cape Town this week.
The store follows the successful open plan design of the original shop in Cedar Square, north of Johannesburg, and showcases all of Neotel’s services, via live equipment and interactive stations in the store.
“For many consumers and small businesses, the concept of converged communications can be confusing,” says Neotel Executive Head of Corporate Communication, Wandile Zote. “So, being able to touch and feel our various offerings, enables the customer, at an extremely practical level, to view just what the latest technologies can do and what cost and service advantages they gain by choosing Neotel.”
Neotel’s reason for building a retail footprint is to allow customers, at every level, to engage with our brand and our services.
“Customers are already using our website, customer call centre, and a range of channel partners to order and purchase their Neotel products, but we felt that they needed a Neotel stand alone store option as well,” Zote says. “And while our Johannesburg store has certainly proved that a retail outlet does drive brand awareness, we also understand that customers will use the store for more than just sales.
“In addition, customers are looking for technical advice and support. It’s clear that even in a highly connected age, many still feel more comfortable meeting Neotel staff who are giving them advice or selling them a product,” He concludes.
Neotel will open two more stores in Pretoria and Durban by the end of March, which will provide the full spectrum of customer support, from bill payments, repairs, and upgrades to new purchases for all of Neotel’s offerings.
Ends
About Neotel:
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator. It provides a range of value-added voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers and consumers using its pure-IP Next Generation Network, powered by Neotel’s high-performance fibre optic backbone. Neotel connects the major centres in South Africa to each other and to the world, directly linking the country into Tata Communications’ global Tier 1 network. Neotel offers fresh thinking, a creative approach and flexible solutions for communications in South Africa.
Contacts:
Chuma Siswana
Neotel
+27 71 853 4405
Chuma.Siswana@neotel.co.za 
Neotel has reduce its peak tariff rate to R1, 20 per minute and its off peak rate will remain at 96 cents per minute, effective this morning Monday 01 march 2009, . Please note that these rates exc Read More
Neotel has reduce its peak tariff rate to R1, 20 per minute and its off peak rate will remain at 96 cents per minute, effective this morning Monday 01 march 2009, . Please note that these rates exclude Cell C while pending finalisation of agreement and exclude VAT.
The company says in the current economic climate, where basic everyday costs continue to increase any price reduction would bring relief to consumers. “We’ve always said any reduction in interconnection rates must benefit the consumer and we’re happy that even our competitors are beginning to echo this message”, says Wandile Zote, Executive Head of Corporate Communication.
“From the onset we committed ourselves to change the way South Africans communicate and our main differentiator has always been pricing and technology. Moreover, all our voice rates are billed per second and there are no hidden costs” he said.
Neotel prides itself in always being aware of the local and global markets in which it operates. This has determined their pricing strategy and partnerships with key industry players. Their most recent price reductions are based on overall industry changes, such as access to SEACOM, SAT3/SAFE, WACS, EASSY and regulator policies.
Since inception Neotel is and has always been committed to reducing the cost of communicating for all South Africans and has always had the lowest tariffs in the industry.Neotel remains the clear market leader in carrier voice pricing across all call types, local, national, mobile, international and to all networks. The new rates also mean that for the first time ever, for most calls to mobile phones, it will be cheaper to call from a Neotel phone than from a mobile phone.
Neotel remains on track to support Geographic Number Portability for any user wanting to port from April 2010.
About Neotel:
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator. It provides a range of value-added voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers and consumers using its pure-IP Next Generation Network, powered by Neotel’s high-performance fibre optic backbone. Neotel connects the major centres in South Africa to each other and to the world, directly linking the country into Tata Communications’s global Tier 1 network. Neotel offers fresh thinking, a creative approach and flexible solutions for communications in South Africa.
Contacts:
Chuma Siswana
Neotel
+27 71 853 4405
Chuma.Siswana@neotel.co.za
Tata Communications launched two new public Telepresence rooms in Chicago, USA and Sydney, Australia, yesterday with the Starwood Hotels & Resorts group. To date Tata Communications has twelve p Read More
Tata Communications launched two new public Telepresence rooms in Chicago, USA and Sydney, Australia, yesterday with the Starwood Hotels & Resorts group. To date Tata Communications has twelve public rooms globally, including its first public Telepresence room in Africa, at Neotel headquarters in Midrand.
These rooms provide a cost-effective and innovative way to conduct business by offering advanced audio, high-definition video interactive elements to deliver a virtual meeting experience that feels real.
According to Wandile Zote, executive head of corporate communication at Neotel; “in an economic environment that requires companies to look for ways to reduce costs and carbon footprint, Neotel now have an additional solution for businesses to effectively manage travel and meeting expenditures while realising their objectives.
“By working closely with Tata Communications, Neotel is able to tap into their global network and provide its customers with true global connectivity. Our customers can come to our public room at Neovate Park, Midrand and have their meetings with partners across the globe,” he says.
Other Telepresence rooms are currently operational in the US, ,England, India, Philippines and Tata Communications is also planning to establish Telepresence public rooms in Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco,Dallas as well as Washington DC and Neotel customers would have access to those rooms”, he concludes.
Ends
About Neotel:
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator. It provides a range of value-added voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers and consumers using its pure-IP Next Generation Network, powered by Neotel’s high-performance fibre optic backbone. Neotel connects the major centres in South Africa to each other and to the world, directly linking the country into Tata Communications’s global Tier 1 network. Neotel offers fresh thinking, a creative approach and flexible solutions for communications in South Africa.
Contacts:
Chuma Siswana
Neotel
+27 71 853 4405
Chuma.Siswana@neotel.co.za
On Friday the South African telecommunications industry celebrated the start of the final construction phase of the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), with a visit to supplier Alcatel- Read More
On Friday the South African telecommunications industry celebrated the start of the final construction phase of the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), with a visit to supplier Alcatel-Lucent’s fully-laden cable-laying ship docked in Durban harbour.
This weekend, the cable ship will commence laying the southern portion of the EASSy cable up the coastline from Mtunzini, where Neotel is already connected to the SAFE cable, and has its SEACOM landing station. The addition of EASSy will significantly boost international bandwidth capacity and redundancy and increase Internet connectivity competition in South Africa.
According to Dr Angus Hay, executive head of technology at Neotel, “The EASSy cable is now in its final rollout phase and will soon increase competition in the local market, and hopefully also accelerate ongoing price reduction for connectivity.”
“Neotel will now have connections to four cables, meaning that consumers are highly unlikely to experience downtime, after the EASSy cable goes live around August this year. As a member of the EASSy consortium, we are investing around 80 million Rand into this project so as to provide a wider range of connectivity options to our customers.”
Hay says the company is committed to continuing to increase reliability and security in the wake of the recent problems on SAT-3, when Neotel’s SEACOM cable connectivity proved a clear advantage over competitors. The addition of the EASSY cable in August means that Neotel will lead the pack in reliability and connectivity through four cables, and with access to Tata Communications’ hundreds of thousands of kilometres of submarine cable routes spanning the globe.
Neotel, the South African telecommunications challenger, has confirmed that everything is on track for individual number porting to become available in April 2010.
Geographic number portability Read More
Neotel, the South African telecommunications challenger, has confirmed that everything is on track for individual number porting to become available in April 2010.
Geographic number portability is defined as the process via which customers can transfer their fixed line number from one operator to the next – maintaining their telephone number but switching operators.
“The porting of numbers in blocks of 10000 or 1000 has been available for some months now,” says Angus Hay, Executive Head - Technology at Neotel. “Unfortunately that excluded many businesses, as it is only relevant to very large corporations.”
“Some large customers have already ported a number of 10000 and 1000 blocks to Neotel. In addition, we are already testing 100 block porting, and as of April will be able to do 100 block and individual porting for any customer,” he says.. “This is what South Africans have been waiting for, of course – the ability to port their individual fixed line telephone numbers.”
Geographic number portability brings a new dimension of freedom of choice to the consumer as they no longer have to lose their existing fixed line number when changing service providers. “This truly puts the consumer in charge of their own destiny when it comes to service providers,” Hay concludes.
ICASA ruled on the 18th of December 2009 that ported numbers must be indicated to the consumer by the sound of 3 beeps while a call is being connected, as is currently the industry standard with ported cellular numbers.
About Neotel:
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator. It provides a range of value-added voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers and consumers using its pure-IP Next Generation Network, powered by Neotel’s high-performance fibre optic backbone. Neotel connects the major centres in South Africa to each other and to the world, directly linking the country into Tata Communications’s global Tier 1 network. Neotel offers fresh thinking, a creative approach and flexible solutions for communications in South Africa.
Contacts:
Chuma Siswana Lizelle Christison
Neotel Fleishman-Hillard
+27 71 853 4405 +27 82 417 0417
Chuma.Siswana@neotel.co.za Lizelle.Christison@fleishman.co.za
Neotel has confirmed that it will be withdrawing its cycling sponsorship of Team Neotel. This follows the recent announcement that Cycling South Africa (CSA) has suspended Nolan Hoffman after positi Read More
Neotel has confirmed that it will be withdrawing its cycling sponsorship of Team Neotel. This follows the recent announcement that Cycling South Africa (CSA) has suspended Nolan Hoffman after positive test samples were returned by the SA Institute of Drug Free Sport. Hoffman’s suspension is an interim measure pending the outcome of a hearing.
“We have always competed to win without losing sight of the need for transformation,” says Ajay Pandey, CEO and MD of Neotel. “We are proud of the results that have been achieved.” Neotel’s involvement in cycling started three years ago with the sponsorship of the team as well as the establishment of a cycling academy. “We have over 40 young people in the academy, ranging from under 10 to under 18, all from previously disadvantaged backgrounds,” says Pandey. “Not only are the young people taught the skills they require to participate in cycling, but life-skills as well.”
From inception Team Neotel has been at the forefront of bringing change to the face of the local cycling circuit. “The team has achieved what some said was impossible and have produced results that rival some of the country’s premier cycling teams,” says Pandey.
With transformation, excellence and development as its key principles, the Neotel team and academy have produced a number of successes over the past three years, including some South African champions. “The biggest success story, however, is that we competed successfully, without losing sight of the need for transformation and development,” he says. “These athletes were not only participating for the sake of participating, but can proudly say that they’re among the best.”
Hoffman tested positive on the 18th of October 2009 and was informed of the positive findings on the 22nd of December 2009. A hearing will be scheduled in the next couple of weeks.
Hoffman is one of the top sprinters in the country. He has been a part of the academy for the past 6 years and has attracted a large following.
A repentful and tearful Hoffman explained that he had been struggling with a knee injury and could not perform optimally. Pressure, he says, created by self expectation and from the community around him drove him to the decision. In a letter addressed to the CSA Hoffman states he would have thought twice had he realised the damage his actions would cause. “I have disgraced the people and sponsors that supported me my whole career. I really hope this doesn’t cause any damage to them and the sport. I have disappointed everyone and I will face everything that is coming to me, I am truly sorry,” he writes.
Says Eugene Ruiters, team founder: “Although we empathise with his motivation, it is disappointing to have a role model such as himself resort to such action. Nolan has been the biggest success of our development plan. He has been in our system since 2004 and has developed into one of South Africa's top cyclists.” Ruiters adds that the team have always maintained a zero tolerance policy toward doping. “There are no excuses.”
“Because we have extremely high ethical standards as an organisation, which is evident in the way in which we deal with both internal and external stakeholder, we do not condone doping whatsoever,” says Pandey. “We have therefore assessed the risk and taken the decision to withdraw from the sport,” he concludes.
About Neotel:
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator. It provides a range of value-added voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers and consumers using its pure-IP Next Generation Network, powered by Neotel’s high-performance fibre optic backbone. Neotel connects the major centres in South Africa to each other and to the world, directly linking the country into Tata Communications’s global Tier 1 network. Neotel offers fresh thinking, a creative approach and flexible solutions for communications in South Africa.
Contacts:
If South Africa is to truly move into being a global economy, issues such as limited or no connectivity need to be addressed. International research has shown that there is a direct correlation be Read More
If South Africa is to truly move into being a global economy, issues such as limited or no connectivity need to be addressed. International research has shown that there is a direct correlation between pervasive broadband and fast-tracked economic growth, but in order for pervasive broadband to become a reality, the obstacles to building extensive networks must be addressed. This is the view of Angus Hay, Executive Head: Technology at Neotel.
“The idea of pervasive broadband supports the drive to effectively bridge the digital divide,” says Hay. “It ensures broader network coverage to ensure that more citizens have access to faster Internet services, which in turn provides the platform for innovation and development for all citizens.”
The challenge in rolling out pervasive broadband networks however is the delay in return on investment. “Building a network takes a massive investment, which is why it is natural that operators focus on where they will see a return in a shorter timeframe,” says Hay. “This investment is not just financial in nature – it’s the investment in getting environmental impact assessments done correctly, the processes that need to be followed in getting much sought-after spectrum and the battles fought in the industry for market share.” However, unless the investment is made in providing much broader access to services, South Africa is not going to realise the true benefit of broadband.
Hay believes that speeding up the process of spectrum allocation for example will already provide the means to connect more rural areas. “The allocation of spectrum is critical to operators – we simply cannot operate without it,” he says. “This, in conjunction with the creative use of wireless technologies where it is impossible to lay fibre will go a long way in connecting more communities.”
“Speeding up the process of spectrum allocation will in turn speed up the process of increasing network coverage and thus competition in the marketplace,” says Hay. “This is precisely what the South African market so sorely needs – more access, more competition and eventually more affordable connectivity.”
Recent industry discussions have also focused heavily on local loop unbundling as a means of stimulating competition. “We understand the need and drive for local loop unbundling, but believe there are additional measures to stimulate competition that could sideline the need for this intervention,” says Hay. “The process of unbundling the local loop takes time and patience, as you are expecting an operator who has invested heavily in a network to open it up to their competitor and we believe the South African consumer is running out of both.” He says alternate operators should focus on innovative ways of working around this issue. “Neotel as the innovative telecommunications challenger has always focused on self-provisioning rather than relying on anyone else’s network,” says Hay. “This has given us the agility and flexibility to be a market-led, responsive and customer driven telecoms player that can truly enable South Africans,” he concludes.
Neotel has come out in favour of government’s stance on reducing interconnect fees, saying it is a step in the right direction to bring down the cost of communications and make it more broadly avail Read More
Neotel has come out in favour of government’s stance on reducing interconnect fees, saying it is a step in the right direction to bring down the cost of communications and make it more broadly available to South Africans.
“We have always supported increased competition in the telecommunications market,” says Ajay Pandey, MD and CEO of Neotel. “The only way to truly drive competition is to allow for easier market entry.”
Pandey does however make it clear that the reduction in interconnect fees must be visible to customers through tangible cost savings. “For too long South Africans have been held ransom by a lack of choice and have had to pay these exorbitant fees if they wanted to have access to communications,” he says. “The opportunity now is to pass this saving on to the consumer who traditionally could not afford communications.”
Pandey also believes it is critical that a clear, transparent process is followed. “As operators it is our responsibility to connect South Africans and we need to work in partnership with the authorities to achieve this goal,” he says. “We have never been afraid of competition – in fact as the innovative telecommunications challenger we thrive on it, but this change must be made responsibly.”
According to Pandey, a managed, process-driven reduction in interconnect rates is a step in the right direction towards bringing down the cost of communications, but there are other factors at play as well. “As the innovative telecommunications challenger, Neotel has always focused on making communications more affordable to South Africans – bringing high quality products and services to the market, providing real value,” he says. There are however a number of factors that impact on pricing. “Changes in licence fees, spectrum fees, acquiring Rights of Way in the process of building a network and associated environmental impact assessments all place additional costs on an operator seeking to challenge existing operations in the market,” says Pandey. “As Neotel, we believe these items should all be reviewed alongside the interconnect issues to ensure that the industry looks at all possible areas of cost-reduction, followed by a clear process to ensure that these savings are passed onto the consumer.”
“It is to be expected that there will be arguments for both sides of the case,” says Pandey. “As an industry, however, we must ensure that we do not get caught up in the fight and lose sight of the real issue at hand here – affordable telecommunications for South African citizens,” he concludes.
ENDS
About Neotel:
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator. It provides a range of value-added voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers and consumers using its pure-IP Next Generation Network, powered by Neotel’s high-performance fibre optic backbone. Neotel connects the major centers in South Africa to each other and to the world, directly linking the country into Tata Communications’s global Tier 1 network. Neotel offers fresh thinking, a creative approach and flexible solutions for communications in South Africa.
Contacts:
Chuma Siswana Lizelle Christison
Neotel Fleishman-Hillard
+27 73 254 5386 +27 82 417 0417
Chuma.Siswana@neotel.co.za Lizelle.Christison@fleishman.co.za Neotel has launched the first public TelePresence facility in Africa, making the public room available for business customers to interact with their global counterparts. The TelePresence which uses Ci Read MoreNeotel has launched the first public TelePresence facility in Africa, making the public room available for business customers to interact with their global counterparts. The TelePresence which uses Cisco technology integrates advanced audio, high-definition video and interactive elements with the power of the underlying network to deliver a virtual meeting experience that feels real.
Neotel has introduced this value-added service in response to continued global economic pressures resulting in organisations looking for ways to cut down on overseas corporate travelling in particular. In a recent report, Gartner Inc predicts that due to the current world economic crisis, high-definition based video meeting solutions will impact the global travel industry negatively. Locally, businesses want to reduce operational costs and they are reducing their travel budgets quite significantly.
“The launch of this TelePresence facility is in line with Tata Communications’ global strategy to launch more of these facilities across the globe this year,” says Ajay Pandey, MD and CEO of Neotel. By working closely with Tata Communications, Neotel is able to tap into their global network, providing South Africans with true global connectivity. “We see this as a wonderful opportunity to enable our customers’ businesses by providing them with access to a solution that will streamline operations and reduce travel time and associated costs,” he says.
TelePresence creates the perception that the different parties are sitting in the same room, having a face-to-face meeting, without having to travel to the meeting. “This means the effective use of this technology will save time and money,” says Pandey.
“The business case associated with TelePresence is phenomenal,” says Pandey. “Again we are redefining the South African telecommunications market by challenging the norm and changing the way South Africans communicate among themselves and with the world”
In today’s tight economic conditions organisations need to find creative ways of driving down costs yet remain competitive. “It is a win-win situation, our customers can continue running their businesses, whilst driving down travel costs,” he concludes.
Ends
About Neotel:
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator. It provides a range of value-added voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers and consumers using its pure-IP Next Generation Network, powered by Neotel’s high-performance fibre optic backbone. Neotel connects the major centers in South Africa to each other and to the world, directly linking the country into Tata Communications’s global Tier 1 network. Neotel offers fresh thinking, a creative approach and flexible solutions for communications in South Africa.
Contacts:
Chuma Siswana Lizelle Christison
Neotel Fleishman-Hillard
+27 73 254 5386 +27 82 417 0417
Chuma.Siswana@neotel.co.za Lizelle.Christison@fleishman.co.za
Johannesburg – Less than two years after launching its enterprise based telecommunication services, Neotel has crossed R2, 2 billion in terms of consolidated annualised revenue for the operating year Read MoreJohannesburg – Less than two years after launching its enterprise based telecommunication services, Neotel has crossed R2, 2 billion in terms of consolidated annualised revenue for the operating year and is now pushing for R3 billion revenue this year as more companies continue to have confidence in its services.
Ajay Pandey, the Managing Director and CEO, said, “This is the year in which we have shifted gears and are second only to the incumbent in terms of key telecoms service providers in the Enterprise space. If we continue with our growth trajectory, soon we will be counted amongst the bigger players in the entire telecoms space of South Africa. We have set very aggressive targets for ourselves for the next year and have already exceeded those targets for the first quarter,” he says.
The acquisition of Transtel last year and the acquisition of more CDMA and WiMAX sites in the major metropolitan areas of the country have contributed significantly to Neotel increasing its client base to more than 500 enterprise customers and its employee population has grown to over one thousand.
Neotel is already providing high quality services to clients such as Standard Bank, Web Africa, Internet Solutions, Tenet Africa, SITA, Vox Telecom and the National Health Laboratory Service.
“The most significant investments we have made recently, is in the two data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town. In addition, we are launching a state of the art Telepresence facility at the end of this month, and plans are afoot to set up another one in Cape Town.
“Our data center is an example of a fresh new approach in the South African market designed with high energy efficient technologies allowing the highest data center cooling density. Telepresence will significantly improve the way companies conduct their business. It provides focused, precise and concise tool for communication and accelerates decision making.
“We are indeed redefining the South African telecommunications market, by challenging the conventions, being responsive to the needs of customers and making our service offerings flexible, without compromising on a world-class quality of service,” he adds.
Its metropolitan area network spans more than 3 500km in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban and this is 750km ahead of this year’s schedule. Neotel is a key player in the creation of nationwide long distance network in partnership with MTN and Vodacom.
About Neotel:
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator. It provides a range of value-added voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers and consumers using its pure-IP Next Generation Network, powered by Neotel’s high-performance fibre optic backbone. Neotel connects the major centres in South Africa to each other and to the world, directly linking the country into Tata Communications’s global Tier 1 network. Neotel offers fresh thinking, a creative approach and flexible solutions for communications in South Africa.
Contacts:
Wandile Zote Lizelle Christison
Neotel Fleishman-Hillard
+27 83 252 4924 + 27 82 417 0417 Wandile.Zote@neotel.co.za lizelle.Christison@fleishman.co.za |
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